Campaign ads ready to hit South Dakota viewers

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Weiland is leading the charge, starting a modest ad campaign this week across the state.

Weiland will spend about $25,000 in the next week to air more than 300 commercials in both the Sioux Falls and Rapid City markets.

The ads are light-hearted 15-second spots that mock Weiland’s financial disadvantage in the race.

“Since we don’t have a lot of big-money donors, we can only afford these 15-second ads,” Weiland says.

The ads are similar to a famous 1990 commercial by Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, in which Wellstone said, “Unlike my opponent, I don’t have $6 million, so I’m going to have to talk fast.”

Jennifer Duffy, senior editor at the Cook Political Report, said Weiland’s biggest need now is probably to “tell voters more about himself.”

Bigger things might be coming down the road for Weiland, who finished June with close to $450,000 in the bank — about half Rounds’ total. He recently spent $40,000 at a prominent New York ad firm, according to his most recent Federal Election Commission report.

Other major candidates will be on the air, too.

Rounds and Gov. Dennis Daugaard are both exploring ads starting Friday, though neither Republican has yet made a purchase.

Daugaard, seeking a second term against Democrat Susan Wismer and independent Mike Myers, doesn’t plan on criticizing his opponents in his ads — or even mentioning them.

“This is more of a bio spot and about the governor’s accomplishments,” Daugaard campaign manager Kelsey Webb said of the governor’s upcoming campaign.

“Mike has done this a time or two before. He has never mentioned an opponent by name in an ad before, and I can’t imagine that he would start now,” Skjonsberg said.

Wismer, who has raised a fraction of Daugaard’s campaign money, has yet to purchase any television ads. Nor has Myers, who has even less money than Wismer.

In the U.S. Senate race, independent Larry Pressler has aired some limited television advertisements during the past year. Independent Gordon Howie has released an online commercial and says he plans to buy advertising time for it, but has yet to do so.

At some point, Weiland probably will air ads criticizing Rounds. Zach Crago, executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party, said Weiland will hold Rounds “accountable to his record.”

Duffy was skeptical attack ads could resonate, saying Weiland might have to hope Rounds sticks his foot in his mouth.

“I’m not sure there’s anything about Gov. Rounds that he can tell voters that’s new to them, that they don’t already know,” Duffy said.

Crago disagreed.

“Mike Rounds has never been thoroughly tested in a high-profile, expensive race,” Crago said. “He’s never had to face the kind of resources in his statewide races for governor that he will face running for U.S. Senate.”

Rounds campaign manager Rob Skjonsberg said the Republican nominee is prepared to answer any attacks against him.